Cool-headed, subtly macho Skerritt first came to notice for his quirky character role in the film M*A*S*H (1970). He played Shirley MacLaine's husband in The Turning Point (1977) and has also appeared in Alien (1979), Top Gun (1986), Steel Magnolias (1989), Contact (1997), and The Other Sister (1999). Skerritt acted in several episodes of the TV series Cheers (1987–88) and won an Emmy for his performance in the series Picket Fences (1992–96).